Wednesday, September 15, 2010

As Ontario school children headed back to school, local police issued thousands of speeding ticket in the name of a "Back to School Campaign". The municipality of Clarington Ontario is advertising to the media that the local police have issued 1,500 speeding tickets.

The math is, 1500 times 100 dollars equals $150,000.00 in fines in two weeks.

As police departments send out their army of police officers to write speeding tickets in the name of public safety, the city collects thousands of dollars in traffic ticket fines.

Of the thousands of dollars created by the police how much goes back into actually making school zones safer from speeding motorists... not much.

After years of complaining that speeding motorists put our children at risk, how much traffic calming has been installed around school zones to slow down drivers when the police are not watching?

When are they going to install traffic calming and implement road design that makes traffic move slowly through a school zone? When the municipalities stop making millions of dollars per year on traffic ticket fines that's when.

Every year the police send their army of officers out to collect fees for speeding tickets, and it doesn't seem to stop the problem. Traffic calming, like bicycle lanes, stop signs, road design and speed bumps would stop the speeding within school zones but how much have you actually seen of this.

Of the thousands of motorists caught speeding in Ontario, most were driving less than 20 km/h over the limit, hardly dangerous, and certainly at a level that a speed bump would have slowed them down to a crawl.

Lets put an end to this revenue system for the municipality, get the police doing more productive work and install some speed bumps and traffic calming.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Starting August 1st 2010 the Ontario Ministry of Transportation is starting new driving and driving laws for drivers 21 years of age and under.

As of the 1st of August drivers 21 years of age and under must have a zero blood alcohol level when they drive a vehicle in Ontario.

Those found with a blood level over .00 will face an immediate 30 licence suspension, and a fine up to 500 dollars.

The ticket most officer will consider issuing is a ticket under the Ontario Regulations regarding G1 and G2 drivers licences and a new law expected to be issued for class G licence holders 21 years who are found with alcohol in their system.

Any traffic ticket where the driver is convicted under this new section will dramatically affect the insurance rates for that driver. The insurance companies will perceive that the driver is driving in violation of the rules of Ontario, and that the driver is a "drinking driver".

The insurance companies will perceive that driver has a higher risk of being in an accident and increase rates dramatically.

As former police officers, licensed paralegals and former breathalyzer technicians, OTT Legal has experience in fighting all types of traffic tickets, and traffic tickets issued in Ontario and Toronto Traffic Tickets.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Although Canada Day arrived on a Thursday this year, many motorists took the Friday off in between and headed north to "cottage country in Ontario".

Again the OPP, Ontario Provincial Police sent out their army of officers with high tech equipment (laser beams, radar and airplanes) to stop the rush of drivers heading to the cottage.

Although the police have been enforcing the speeding laws of Ontario for years, and have increased their budgets, the police just haven't been able to stop the problem of speeding.

Motorists still speed.

With the money it costs to put a police officer, or a group of police officers out doing speed enforcement, there must be a better way.

Imagine what it costs to put an airplane into the air with a pilot and spotter, then 3 or 4 police cars on the road catching the speeders. The cost to stop one driver speeding on the highway can be well over 500 dollars.

Lets work this out

Airplane enforcement

One airplane with fuel - 250 per hour (probably more..)

One police pilot to fly the plane (rank of Sergeant 90k/year) - 45 per hour

One Constable as spotter in the plane - 35 per hour

Three Constables on ground to stop drivers - 105 per hour (35 x 3)

Three marked police vehicles - 150 hour (50 x 3)

Total Cost 585 per hour (estimated)

This is an estimated cost of speeding ticket enforcement with an airplane. I really dont think that 250 per hour for a plane is right, its probably 1000/hour, but it gives you an idea...

So for an eight hour shift speeding ticket enforcement on Ontario Highways can cost taxpayers close to five thousand dollars, and the real cost is probably more!

That's per day, imagine what the cost of speeding ticket enforcement is per year??

What about the cost of the training, the cost of sending the officers to the court, the cost of laser, and radar guns... It starts to add up to an incredible amount of money.

After sending out this army of officers day after day, year after year, isn't it about time that the government, the police and us the public started looking at other more effective ways of stopping speeding??

What about every new car having a speed limiting governor installed on it from the manufacture?

So that no one would have a car that is capable of driving more than 100km/h, or even make it 120km/h. Wouldn't that have a positive effect on speeding in Ontario? What about the number of lives that would be saved because no one is driving over the speed limit on the highway, who needs to go over 120km/h?

What about traffic calming, why doesn't the government put in traffic calming on every new road they are making? you know like speed bumps, planters, bicycle lanes. Shouldn't this be mandatory around any new school that is built?

I know we couldn't put traffic calming on 400 series highways but we can put traffic calming on other roads within the towns and cities?

When you start to look at speeding in Ontario, you start to realize that maybe there is another issue here.... Like money. Speeding tickets create fines, and the fines from speeding tickets go to the municipality where the ticket is issued.

Police Speeding ticket enforcement, having not changed in 25 years or more, its high time government looked at other ways of controlling the problem.

After sending an army of police officers out every day to write speeding tickets drivers are still speeding, and its not working...

Thursday, July 1, 2010

The increasing long line ups at the Toronto courts is an ongoing issue for those wishing to file their traffic tickets for trial.

Currently to hand in your traffic ticket requesting a trial date, drivers have to attend at the court house, take a ticket and then wait for your number to be called. (dont forget to pay for the parking)

The wait just to hand in your traffic ticket can be an hour or longer!

One enterprising fellow thought he saw a business by standing at the court, and handing tickets in for people for a 12 dollar fee, but there is no security to ensure the guy actually does hand in your ticket!

The Court house security caught wind of the small business operation and quickly ordered the man off the court property. The system used put me out of business.... complained the man!

Come by one of the offices of OTT Legal www.OTTLegal.com speak to our staff and we will hand in the traffic ticket for you, the fee is just 10 dollars and its guaranteed.

If you want to speak to one of our licensed paralegals or former police officers, we are there to speak to you.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Good news for the drivers of the City of Toronto. Toronto police officers in preparation for the G20 Summit at the end of June 2010 are getting some relief from the army of officers sent out each day to ticket motorists for minor offenses.

Hundreds of uniform police officers are being deployed from traffic duties and speed enforcement to security for the G20. Many of the traffic officers had been assigned to doing motorcades for the dignitaries from other countries coming to Canada, and have spent the last couple of weeks doing training for the event. As such the usual thousands of speeding and traffic tickets issued each week has fallen off dramatically.